Thomas Edison's Reaction To His Factory Burning Down Shows Why He Was So Successful

Thomas Edison in his West
Orange laboratory.AP Photo/J. Walter
Thompson

At around 5:30 in the evening on Dec. 10, 1914, a massive
explosion erupted in West Orange, New Jersey. Ten buildings in
legendary inventor Thomas Edison's plant, which made up more than
half of the site, were engulfed in flames. Between six and eight
fire departments rushed to the scene, but the chemical-fueled
inferno was too powerful to put out quickly.

According to a 1961 Reader's Digest article by Edison's son
Charles, Edison calmly walked over to him as he watched the fire
destroy his dad's work. In a childlike voice, Edison told his
24-year-old son, "Go get your mother and all her friends. They'll
never see a fire like this again." When Charles objected, Edison
said, "It's all right. We've just got rid of a lot of rubbish."

Later, at the scene of the blaze, Edison was
quoted in
The New York Times as saying, "Although I am over 67 years
old, I'll start all over again tomorrow." He told the reporter
that he was exhausted from remaining at the scene until the chaos
was under control, but he stuck to his word and immediately began
rebuilding the next morning without firing any of his employees.

"To do great things, we need to be able to endure tragedy and
setbacks," Holiday writes. "We've got to love what
we do and all that it entails, good and bad. We have to learn to
find joy in every single thing that happens."

After thoroughly surveying the damage, Edison determined that
he'd lost $919,788 (about $23 million in today's dollars),
according to
Matthew Josephson's biography. The flames had consumed years
of priceless records and prototypes, and his plant's insurance
covered only about a third of the total damage.

But after just three weeks, with a sizable loan from his friend
Henry Ford, Edison got part of the plant up and running again.
His employees worked
double shifts and set to work producing more than
ever. Edison and
his team went on to make almost $10 million in revenue the
following year.

Edison's story is a powerful example of Stoicism, the ancient
Greek philosophy that Holiday explores in
his book. Holiday explains that the Stoics were not
emotionless men devoid of feelings, but rather men who practiced
total control over their emotions in a way that acknowledged
forces beyond their control.

Holiday uses philosopher and writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb's
definition to describe a Stoic: someone who "transforms fear into
prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation, and
desire into undertaking."

It's fine to initially respond to loss or failure with sadness or
anger, says Holiday, but only if it's
fleeting. When tragedy strikes, you must accept that it has
happened and that you cannot change the past. Finding the opportunity to overcome a
challenge ultimately makes you stronger.

Edison not only mastered his emotions but he also instilled
this mindset in his employees. As A.H. Wilson,
his vice president and general manager, told The Times after the
flames died down: "There's only one thing to do, and that is to
jump right in and rebuild."